pyATS Create
pyats create provide an easy way to create parsers, testbeds, and triggers.
Note
pyats.contrib package needs to be installed for pyats create command. If not installed, please install by pip install pyats.contrib
pyats.contrib GitHub : https://github.com/CiscoTestAutomation/pyats.contrib
To see what functionality pyats create offers, execute the following in your linux terminal:
Usage:
pyats create <subcommand> [options]
Description:
Creates script and library components automatically based on your input. These
are helper functions intended to make your development life easier/reducing
number of boilerplate to-dos.
Subcommands:
parser create a new Genie parser from template
project create a new pyATS project from template
testbed create a testbed file automatically
trigger create a new Genie trigger from template
General Options:
-h, --help Show help
-v, --verbose Give more output, additive up to 3 times.
-q, --quiet Give less output, additive up to 3 times, corresponding to WARNING, ERROR,
and CRITICAL logging levels
pyATS Create Testbed
pyats create testbed provide an easy way to create a testbed yaml file. It gives the ability to convert some sources containing device data into a testbed yaml that can be loaded directly.
Usage:
pyats create testbed [source] [arguments]
Testbed Options:
[source] Source of where to retrieve device data.
--output OUTPUT File location to output the created testbed yaml.
General Options:
-h, --help Show help
-v, --verbose Give more output, additive up to 3 times.
-q, --quiet Give less output, additive up to 3 times, corresponding to WARNING, ERROR,
and CRITICAL logging levels
Generate from csv/excel file
Use the following columns header to create a testbed yaml file from Excel/csv file:
hostname : the host name of the device
ip : the ip address of the device, to specify a port, add the port number in the format of:
ip:portusername : the username for logging into the device
password : the default password for logging into the device, user can leave this field blank for security reason, and Genie will prompt you to enter the password when you connect to the device
protocol : the protocol used to connected to the device i.e. ssh, telnet, etc..
os : the operating system for the device i.e. iosxr, iosxe, nxos, linux, etc..
enable_password : (Optional) to provide a different password for entering privileged EXEC mode with `enable` command
All other columns not listed above will be added to the yaml as a key: value pair
Example
Here is an example excel file containing device data:
we can turn it into a testbed yaml file by running the following command:
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed file --path my_devices.xls --output yaml/my_testbed.yaml
Testbed file generated:
my_devices.xls -> yaml/my_testbed.yaml
This will give us the below yaml:
devices:
R1:
connections:
cli:
ip: 172.25.192.101
port: 17013
protocol: ssh
credentials:
default:
password: cisco
username: admin
enable:
password: cisco123
os: iosxe
type: iosxe
R2:
connections:
cli:
ip: 172.25.192.102
port: 17015
protocol: ssh
credentials:
default:
password: cisco
username: admin
enable:
password: cisco123
os: iosxr
type: iosxr
R3:
connections:
cli:
ip: 172.25.192.103
port: 17019
protocol: ssh
credentials:
default:
password: cisco
username: admin
enable:
password: cisco
os: nxos
type: nxos
Tip
Add the --encode-password option to hide the password in the yaml as a secret string.
However this is only for the purpose of obfuscation, the password is not cryptographically secure. Please refer to Secret String for more detail.
Generate from multiple csv/excel files under a directory
Having multiple csv/excel files? You can pass a directory as the input and another directory as the output, then it will create a testbed file for every excel in the provided directory.
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed file --path excels --output yamls -r
Testbed file generated:
excels/my_devices.xlsx -> yamls/my_devices.yaml
excels/my_devices_2.xlsx -> yamls/my_devices_2.yaml
excels/my_devices_test.csv -> yamls/my_devices_test.yaml
excels/sub1/my_devices_csv.csv -> yamls/sub1/my_devices_csv.yaml
excels/sub1/subsub1/my_devices_csv.csv -> yamls/sub1/subsub1 my_devices_csv.yaml
Errors:
excels/my_devices_csv.csv has an error: Duplicate hostname "R2_xr" detected
excels/my_devices_test_err.csv has an error: 'Every device must have a hostname'
excels/my_devices_test_err.xlsx has an error: Error -3 while decompressing data: invalid code -- missing end-of-block
Warnings:
excels/not_excel.txt is not excel or csv
excels/my_devices_csv.yaml is not excel or csv
excels/sub1/not_sub_excel.txt is not excel or csv
Note
The added -r option above will enable genie to look for excels in subdirectories.
Generate by entering device data
Don’t have an excel sheet or a csv? Don’t worry we got you covered! You can manually input the device data without providing the csv/excel file. Just follow the prompt from the program to enter the data:
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed interactive --output yaml my_testbed.yaml --encode-password
Start creating Testbed yaml file ...
Do all of the devices have the same username? [y/n] y
Common Username: admin
Do all of the devices have the same default password? [y/n] y
Common Default Password (leave blank if you want to enter on demand):
Do all of the devices have the same enable password? [y/n] n
Device hostname: R1
IP (ip, or ip:port): 172.15.192.101:17001
Enable Password (leave blank if you want to enter on demand):
Protocol (ssh, telnet, ...): ssh
OS (iosxr, iosxe, ios, nxos, linux, ...): iosxe
More devices to add ? [y/n] y
Device hostname: R2
IP (ip, or ip:port): 172.25.192.102:17002
Enable Password (leave blank if you want to enter on demand):
Protocol (ssh, telnet, ...): ssh
OS (iosxr, iosxe, ios, nxos, linux, ...): iosxr
More devices to add ? [y/n] n
Testbed file generated:
yaml/my_testbed.yaml
This will give us the below yaml (note the hidden password):
devices:
R1:
connections:
cli:
ip: 172.15.192.101
port: 17001
protocol: ssh
credentials:
default:
password: ENC(w5PDosOUw5fDog==)
username: admin
enable:
password: ENC(w5PDosOUw5fDosK-w4nDk8OHw4PDocOR)
os: iosxe
type: iosxe
R2:
connections:
cli:
ip: 172.25.192.102
port: 17002
protocol: ssh
credentials:
default:
password: ENC(w5PDosOUw5fDog==)
username: admin
enable:
password: ENC(w5PDosOUw5fDosK-w4nDk8OHw4PDocORw5PDl8Od)
os: iosxr
type: iosxr
Generate csv/excel template
Too much work? You know can also generate a excel file template to fill in yourself:
Use the --add-keys option if you want to add more optional keys to your template.
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed template --output my_template.xlsx --add-keys alias type
... Template file generated: my_template.xlsx
Generate from Ansible inventory file
Having Ansible inventory file already and want to leverage it even with pyATS? Yes! We offer the option to convert the Ansible inventory file to pyATS testbed yaml.
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed ansible --output testbed.yaml --inventory-name inventory.ini
Tip
Add the --encode-password option to hide the password in the yaml as a secret string.
However this is only for the purpose of obfuscation, the password is not cryptographically secure. Please refer to Secret String for more detail.
Generate from Netbox
You are managing network devices on Netbox and want to generate pyATS testbed yaml from the source of truth? Of course, you can! pyats create testbed netbox command can access to Netbox via REST API and retrieves device data and convert to testbed file.
(venv)demo$ pyats create testbed netbox --output testbed.yaml --netbox-url=<netbox url> --user-token=<token>
Tip
Add the --encode-password option to hide the password in the yaml as a secret string.
However this is only for the purpose of obfuscation, the password is not cryptographically secure. Please refer to Secret String for more detail.
Genie Create Parser
This subcommand uses cookiecutter to generate a new Genie parser. The generated folder contains a parser template and a parser unittest template
Usage:
genie create parser [options]
Description:
create a Genie parser from cookiecutter template, located at:
https://github.com/CiscoTestAutomation/genie-parser-template
Parser Options:
--parser_name PARSER_NAME
name of parser to be generated
--os OS Cisco OS for the parser
General Options:
-h, --help Show help
-v, --verbose Give more output, additive up to 3 times.
-q, --quiet Give less output, additive up to 3 times, corresponding to WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL logging levels
By default, the command will prompt you for information it needs to generate the parser from template. These prompts can be automated if you provide the corresponding command line arguments.
Example
# Example
# -------
#
# creating a parser by entering everything through the prompts
bash$ genie create parser
Checking if cookiecutter is installed...
Parser Name: my_parser
Cisco OS for the parser [IOSXE/IOSXR/NXOS]: IOSXE
Generating your project...
# this will create a new folder with your provided parser name, containing
# the template files
bash $ tree my_parser/
my_parser/
├── my_parser.py
└── test_my_parser.py
genie create trigger
Just like genie create parser, this subcommand uses cookiecutter to generate a new Genie trigger.
The generated folder contains a trigger template and a trigger datafile template
Usage:
genie create trigger [options]
Description:
create a Genie trigger from cookiecutter template, located at:
https://github.com/CiscoTestAutomation/genie-trigger-template
Trigger Options:
--trigger_name TRIGGER_NAME
name of trigger to be generated
--action ACTION action the trigger will perform
--undo_action UNDO_ACTION
undo action the trigger will perform
General Options:
-h, --help Show help
-v, --verbose Give more output, additive up to 3 times.
-q, --quiet Give less output, additive up to 3 times, corresponding to WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL logging levels
By default, the command will prompt you for information it needs to generate the trigger from template. These prompts can be automated if you provide the corresponding command line arguments.
Example
# Example
# -------
#
# creating a trigger by entering everything through the prompts
bash$ pyats create trigger
Checking if cookiecutter is installed...
Trigger Name: my_trigger
Action the trigger will perform (ex. Add): Shut
Undo action the trigger will perform (ex. Remove): NoShut
Generating your project...
# this will create a new folder with your provided trigger name, containing
# the template files
bash $ tree my_trigger/
my_trigger/
├── my_trigger.py
└── my_trigger_datafile.yaml